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Trailer for 'The Father' lands with Oscar buzz for Sir Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins' performance in the forthcoming drama The Father is being called one of the best of his career, with a new trailer now landing from indie studio Lionsgate.

It finds Hopkins playing Anthony, an elderly, independent man living alone, who is often visited by his daughter Anne, played by Olivia Colman.

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Planning to move to Paris with her partner, played by Rufus Sewell, Anthony becomes increasingly paranoid that his daughter has an ulterior motive.

As he begins to unravel, we too begin to question what is real and what is not.

The Father (Credit: Lionsgate)
The Father (Credit: Lionsgate)

The movie is directed by French novelist, theatre director and playwright Florian Zeller – his first film, based on his own, award-winning 2012 play Le Père.

Rounding out a sterling cast is Rufus Sewell as Paul, with whom Anne plans to move to Paris, Imogen Poots, Olivia Williams and League of Gentleman star Mark Gatiss.

Gatiss's role in particular looks jarringly sinister.

The Father (Credit: Lionsgate)
The Father (Credit: Lionsgate)

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, receiving a rare 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Variety called Hopkins' performance 'flat-out stunning', while Vanity Fair called it 'an act of understanding, radical in its toughness and its generous artistry'.

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In The Guardian's review, it called Hopkins 'comfortably an early front-runner for the 2021 [Oscar] race', and the film in general 'astounding, heartbreaking work'.

It's set for release in the UK on 8 January, 2021.